Chapter 4: The Man in My Bedroom
“Call the police.””
My mother was already reaching for her phone.
Agent Price shook his head.
“Not local police. Military investigators are closer.””
On the security feed, William Lane stood in my bedroom holding the missing envelope.
He didn’t hurry.
That frightened me more than if he had been tearing through drawers.
He knew the camera was watching him.
And he didn’t care.
“Can he hear us?”” I asked.
“No,” Price said.
“We’re only receiving video.””
William looked toward the bedroom door.
Someone entered the frame.
Only an arm appeared.
Dark sleeve.
A gloved hand.
William passed the envelope to the unseen person.
“Who is that?”” Mom demanded.
Price enlarged the image.
Nothing.
The person remained outside the camera’s view.
Then William walked toward the security camera.
His face filled the screen.
He reached upward.
The feed went black.
“Damn it.””
Price made three calls in less than a minute.
I swung my legs off the hospital bed.
My mother immediately turned.
“Where are you going?””
“Home.””
“No.””
“My evidence is there.””
“And so is the man who may have assaulted your privacy, stolen evidence, and participated in financial crimes.””
“He’s Grant’s father.””
“That makes him more dangerous, not less.””
I stood anyway.
The room tilted.
Mom caught my elbow.
“Audrey.””
“I’m not staying here while everyone else decides what happens to my life.””
Her expression softened.
“You’re right.””
I hadn’t expected that.
“But being in command,” she continued, “also means knowing when walking into a situation makes everyone else’s job harder.””
That stopped me.
Price nodded toward the monitor around my belly.
“Let us secure the house.””
I hated it.
But I sat.
Forty-three minutes later, Price received the call.
The house was empty.
William was gone.
So was the envelope.
But he had left something behind.
By morning, I had been medically cleared with strict instructions to rest.
Price drove Mom and me to the house.
The front door stood open under an evidence seal.
I had lived there with Grant for four years.
That morning it felt like entering a stranger’s home.
Family photographs lined the hallway.
Grant kissing me at our wedding.
Grant holding my hand after my first major promotion.
Grant smiling beside my mother at Christmas.
I stopped at one photograph.
“You see monsters differently after you know what they are,” I whispered.
Mom stood beside me.
“Sometimes they look exactly like everyone else.””
Upstairs, investigators worked around the bedroom.
My lockbox lay open.
Documents covered the carpet.
Price pointed toward the bed.
“That’s what he left.””
A manila folder sat on my pillow.
My name was written across it.
AUDREY.
I reached for it.
Price stopped me.
“Gloves.””
He handed me a pair.
Inside were photographs.
Dozens.
Me leaving headquarters.
Me entering grocery stores.
Me jogging.
Me visiting my obstetrician.
My stomach tightened.
Someone had been following me.
Then I found a photograph of Mom arriving at an airport three months earlier.
Another showed Price outside an office building.
“This wasn’t Grant being jealous,” I said.
Price’s face hardened.
“No.””
Mom lifted another photograph.
“This one was taken at the Pentagon.””
The image showed me shaking hands with Brigadier General Nolan Reeves.
That meeting had been classified at the time.
I looked at Price.
“How did they get this?””
He didn’t answer.
I already knew why.
Someone inside had been feeding them information.
Then I found a typed note.
*She must not assume command before October 1.*
My promotion became effective October 1.
Two days away.
“Why?”” I whispered.
Price took the paper.
“That’s what we find out.””
A downstairs investigator called.
“Agent Price!””
We hurried down.
A technician stood beside Grant’s home office.
He had removed part of the wall behind the desk.
Inside was a hidden compartment.
Three phones.
Two flash drives.
A laptop.
And stacks of cash.
Mom stared.
“How much?””
“Preliminary count? Over two hundred thousand.””
I felt sick.
Grant had complained when I bought a $120 stroller.
We had argued about hospital bills.
Meanwhile cash had been sitting inside our wall.
Price opened an evidence bag containing one phone.
“We’ll need warrants.””
My own phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone froze.
Price gestured.
“Speaker.””
I answered.
“Hello?””
William Lane’s voice came through.
“You should have stayed out of this, Audrey.””
My hand tightened around the phone.
“You broke into my house.””
“Your husband’s house.””
“My name is on the deed.””
William chuckled.
“You always were stubborn.””
“Where is my envelope?””
“Gone.””
“Why?””
“Because you copied things you didn’t understand.””
“Then help me understand.””
Silence.
I glanced at Price.
He nodded for me to continue.
“You’re protecting Grant,” I said.
“I’m protecting my family.””
“Grant attacked me.””
“He lost his temper.””
“He could have hurt my daughter.””
“Then perhaps you shouldn’t have provoked him publicly.””
My mother stepped forward.
I raised one hand.
Not yet.
“What happens October 1?””
William stopped breathing for half a second.
It was enough.
“What are you talking about?””
“The note you left.””
“I left no note.””
Price and Mom exchanged looks.
I felt the room change.
If William hadn’t left the folder…
Someone else had.
Someone wanted me to find it.
“Who doesn’t want me assuming command?”” I asked.
William’s voice dropped.
“Listen carefully. Walk away from the promotion.””
“Why?””
“If you take that command, you will discover something you cannot undiscover.””
The line went dead.
Price immediately started tracing it.
My mother looked at me.
“You’re not walking away.””
“No.””
I looked toward Grant’s hidden compartment.
“But I’m done pretending this is about Grant’s pride.””
Price’s technician approached carrying one of the flash drives.
“Sir?””
Price turned.
“We found a document on this.””
“What document?””
The technician swallowed.
“A personnel list.””
He handed Price a tablet.
Price scrolled.
Then stopped.
His eyes lifted toward me.
“What?””
He rotated the screen.
The heading read:
*PROJECT SENTINEL — REMOVAL PRIORITIES*
There were nine names.
Mine was number three.
May you like
Number one was General Rebecca Mercer.
My mother.
